Chair Yoga

I love my counselling work, but there is a lot of sitting.  I do stand whenever I can, and also try and adapt my workstation to a standing work station for when I need to write, but this isn’t always possible. 

However I have found that some of the chair yoga I have been teaching comes in very handy for short movement breaks during the day.  Here is a variation of a sun salutation I practice during my sitting work days.

To start:

Gently rock back and forth, find your sit bones at the bottom of your pelvis and make sure that you are placing your weight through these bones, and lengthening through the back of your spine.  Inhale and lengthen through the front of the body.  Exhale and ground through your feet making sure the ankles are under the knees, feet parallel.

The following sequence only takes a few minutes, perfect for a movement snack a few times a day.  It will ease tension through the lower and upper back, and neck. 

Chair salutation

Start by bringing your hands together in prayer pose.

Inhale arms out to the sides

Exhale stay, turn palms up and draw shoulder blades together and open chest.

Inhale arms up

Exhale roll forward, hands come to floor

Inhale roll up half way, hands on knees

Exhale roll down hands to floor

Inhale up to sitting

Exhale twist to right
Inhale neck /head to front while torso stays twisted (be gentle-no force!)

Exhale head back to join twisted spine

Inhale whole body back to centre

Exhale twist to left

Inhale head to front while torso stays twisted

Exhale head back

Inhale everything back

Inhale arms up

Exhale to start.

Repeat whenever you have a quiet moment and need to ease out your back and neck.